Chelsea release Battersea plans

22 June 2012 04:18

Chelsea have produced artist's impressions of how a new stadium at Battersea Power Station would look, despite not being selected as preferred bidders to redevelop the site.

Last month the Blues revealed they had submitted an application to move to the 39-acre site in Wandsworth, but administrators since confirmed a joint bid by two Malaysian companies - SP Setia and Sime Darby - had been chosen instead.

Chelsea posted the images, produced jointly with development partner Almacantar and architects Kohn Pedersen Fox, on their club website, but moved to reassure fans they were "not currently in discussions with the sellers of the site", although adding, "we do not know if those [current] negotiations will be successful or not."

The European champions are considering moving away from their Stamford Bridge home as their existing capacity of around 42,000 is preventing them from bringing in the kind of matchday revenue enjoyed by the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United, who have much bigger stadiums.

Chelsea revealed in plans last month that they intended to transform the Grade II listed building on the south bank of the River Thames in to "one of the most iconic football stadiums in the world".

Their plan for Battersea was to develop it into a 60,000-seater ground that included the power station's four chimneys.

The club said in a statement: "We firmly believe our proposals could address the unique challenges presented by the site.

"The design would integrate the stadium with the power station in a sensitive, unique and powerful way, with all significant historical aspects of the power station to be retained."

Wandsworth Council were happy with the administrators' decision over Battersea, with preferred bidders SP Setia and Sime Darby given a 28-day period of due diligence - running to July 5 - to prove everything is in place to carry out their Â£400million 'real estate regeneration project', which is also set to see a new tube station to connect to the Northern Line.

Chelsea maintain Battersea was "one of a limited number of options the club is considering".